We all have to eat, so why not make the planning for it efficient? Sunday nights are my meal planning nights because I like to grocery shop early Monday mornings. This works for me and my schedule, but find the time and day that works best for you. My process for doing so is fairly simple. I gather together:

My weekly meal planning notepad

The matching grocery list pad

All my cookbooks

My planner

Wine/Cider, whatever your drink of choice is -- makes the process a little more fun! ;)

I start off by looking at my calendar. What days I'm going to be out of town, if one of us will be working late, if we're having guests, etc. and mark them on the weekly notepad. I also take note of what is going on that day. If I know I have a busy day and won't be able to do much prep, I keep that in mind to choose a low maintenance meal. And, as simple as it sounds I just go through my cookbooks and start picking the ones for that week! My meal planning notepad was a gift from a little store in Minneapolis, but here is a list I made of the meal planners I want to try or have heard how great they are! The following tips are comprised of my methods as well as my three older sister's methods. They are all busy mamas and had a lot of great tips to offer. Hope you enjoy & let us know if you have a method/tip we didn't mention in the comments section below! :)

A few things to try to keep in mind at home:

Look in your cabinets, pantry, fridge and freezer and take note of what you already have.

When you go through all of these areas, look at expiration dates or if anything has gone bad. This weekly check in for those items will keep your pantry, fridge, freezer & cabinets more organized.

Couponing is not an old lady thing anymore! It's amazing to save money so why not cut coupons?! Coupons and ads alone may help you form meal ideas.

As you are picking meals, make a comprehensive grocery list. Try to write it so that like items are together. It'll make grocery shopping ten times more efficient if all the produce (or any group of food) you are buying is grouped together on your list. Even something as simple as starring all the produce can help. This technique has really made a difference in me not forgetting to put something in my cart while I'm in that section. Who else gets so frustrated when the last thing on your list is clear across the store and it's the area you started with?!

Try to pick meals that have common ingredients. This is where you're going to be saving some of that money and not letting food go to waste. For example, if you have a recipe that uses half a bag of spinach, maybe choose another meal for the end of the week that also uses the rest so you aren't wasting the other half of the bag. Same thing can be said for meat -- If you don't need as big of portions and you only need 1/2 a pound of meat for dinner tomorrow, portion it out and freeze the remainder.

Meal plan all meals! Don't forget about breakfast, lunch and snacks! My mom made my sisters and my lunches everyday from Kindergarten to Senior Year of high school -- bless her heart {she spoiled us :) }. She had it so we knew which foods were for snacking and which ones were for lunches.

It's okay to meal plan for leftovers. You're just making sure you're not wasting! Go you! It's especially useful to plan for left overs for those busy nights during the week or for lunches. Choose a meal that makes more and mark it for 2-3 days before your busy night meal.

Always have an easy back up. If something you planned isn't sounding good or sounds like a lot of work after the day you've had, chances of you eating out are so much higher! Having a go-to easy back-up that is a family favorite will help you beat the temptation of eating out.

Crock Pot meals will be your best friend if you know it'll be a long day or busy night.

At the grocery store:

Use apps to your advantage! If you have a Target that has a grocery store, download the Cartwheel app. It's great for saving on items you're already purchasing! Most other stores you grocery shop at have apps with coupons on them. (***Tip! I only take out the app right before I'm ready to check out. I use the bar code scanner feature and only scan what is in my cart. This saves me money because I'm not purchasing anything extra just because I see it's on sale.)

When you get home:

Again, portion out those ingredients to save time later.

If you have the time on the day you go grocery shopping, you could even go as far as cutting the fruits and veggies, for snacks and meal prep. It'll save you time later and help out even more on those busy nights!

If you're not convinced already, here's a few more reasons why it'll help you save time and money:

Having the week planned out serves as a reminder to take things out of the freezer to defrost the night before or morning of. This is another tip that will help you avoid spending money & eating out!

By using what you have in your freezer/fridge/pantry first, you're saving money by not buying doubles. This also makes your kitchen more organized and keeps from overflowing.

These tips require a little more time and thought into the process on your meal planning days, but they pay off in the long run. Try it out and let me know how it goes! Have a beautiful week, y'all!

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Author

Emily has a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Iowa State University. There she learned how valuable organization can be in being productive. She chose to use this knowledge and help others achieve this productivity and optimization in their homes and small businesses. Read & Enjoy and as always, let us know if you have any questions!